Halloween, the time of pumpkins, candies, ghosts, witches and much more, is annually celebrated on 31 October.
That's
the night before All Saints Day. Its origins date back thousands of
years to the Celtic festival of Samhaim or The Feast of the Sun, a most
significant holiday of the Celtic year. This day marked the end of
summer but also the season of darkness as well as the beginning of the
New Year on 1 November.
Druids in Britain and Ireland would light bonfires,
dance around them and offer sacrifices of animal and crops. The fires
were also intended to give warmth to the households and to keep free
from evil spirits. Through the ages these practices changed.
Jack-o-LanternThe Irish hollowed out turnips, placed
a light inside to keep away the bad and stingy Jack. As the legend
says, Jack was a man who tricked the devil and after Jack had died he
was allowed neither in heaven nor in hell. With a lantern in his hand he
began to search for a resting place on Earth. This was the original
Jack-o-Lantern. Since Halloween came to America from Ireland (Scotland
and Wales) people used pumpkins because they were bigger and easier to
hollow out than turnips.
The witchDuring the centuries the cultures have added their own elements to the way Halloween is celebrated.
Children
love the custom of dressing-up in fancy costumes and going from
door-to-door yelling "Trick-or-Treat" . Adults instead join spooky
parties which are nearly held all over the cities and villages on that
special evening. A spooky decoration, games and "frightening food" are
nuts and bolts for a Halloween party your friends won't soon forget
FROM = INDRA K.O.P (15) 8H
